PROVIDENCE – Providence Equity Partners Inc. and The Carlyle Group have been joined by rival Blackstone Group LP in their bid to buy U.K.-based business information group Informa Plc, according to The Financial Times of London.

Informa publishes more than 2,000 trade publications – including three-century-old maritime newsletter Lloyd’s List, considered the world’s oldest continuously operating newspaper – and organizes more than 10,000 conferences annually.

In July, Providence Equity confirmed that it and Carlyle had teamed up to approach the Informa board with a “cash proposal.” But the firms said at the time that their proposal “is at an early stage, and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor the terms on which an offer would be made.” (READ MORE)

The now-trio of private-equity firms is still working to secure financing from a syndicate of more than a dozen banks, including JPMorgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America and HSBC, The Financial Times said last night, quoting one person close to the consortium as saying “the financing is done,” although no firm offer has been made.

The banks reportedly are offering to lend 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion pounds – about $2.7 billion to $3.2 billion – which would amount to between five and six times Informa’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That might make the takeover the U.K.’s largest leveraged buyout since the credit crunch began.

Providence Equity Partners Inc. is a global private investment firm – based in Providence, with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Hong Kong and New Delhi – that specializes in media, entertainment, communications and information companies. Since its founding in 1989, Providence Equity has made investments in more than 100 companies. Its equity commitments total about $21 billion. Additional information is available at www.provequity.com.